00:00We are joined by John Bolton, the former National Security Advisor to President Trump.
00:05Sir, thank you so much for joining us on Euronews.
00:08Pleasure with you. Thanks for having me.
00:13And, of course, you worked very closely with the President in his first term.
00:17You know how he works. You know his psyche, his mind.
00:20And that is important because ultimately he is the Commander-in-Chief.
00:23What we're seeing now is a timeline that looks erratic.
00:27The goals appear to be changing.
00:28Is there a plan?
00:31Well, I don't think anybody knows the answer to that, including Donald Trump.
00:35I think he said at the outset his goal was regime change.
00:40Many of his advisers have said the goal was something else.
00:44But as recently as a few days ago in a speech in Kentucky,
00:48Trump said we don't want to have to come back and do this every two years,
00:52which strongly implies regime change, in his mind, is still the objective.
00:59So that is the goal.
01:00And you're also a vocal supporter of regime change in Iran.
01:03But from the outside, it seems this regime is not changing or, if anything,
01:07is doubling down on the hardliners and the protests are not really happening.
01:10Is regime change really possible now, three weeks into this war?
01:14Well, it took them 47 years to build the regime.
01:18So I don't think anybody should be surprised that it hasn't collapsed in three weeks.
01:22Hundreds of top leaders have been eliminated.
01:26And the bases and communications and assets of the Revolutionary Guard have been decimated.
01:33It's not really a question of the people going out in the streets.
01:36It's a question of working with figures in the regime who don't want to go down with the ship
01:42and who, as the regime comes apart at the top, will come over to the side of the opposition.
01:50So can I ask you very bluntly, is this now a moment where the U.S. and Israel need to
01:55double down until it's done?
01:57Well, I think if Trump really wants regime change, he certainly could have done a lot better preparation for it.
02:05But if that's your objective, you have to have patience and persistence to see it through.
02:10Because if you give up before you accomplish it, you may be worse off than if you had never started.
02:21Okay, so if you want to accomplish it, however, the president was clear today that he will not put boots
02:26on the ground.
02:27Is he going to have to in the end?
02:29Well, that's what he says today.
02:31Who knows what he'll say tomorrow?
02:33I mean, there is a contingent of Marines on the way.
02:38And we'll see how things develop.
02:43And if this doesn't go well for the president, are we looking at the biggest diplomatic disaster for the U
02:48.S. in decades?
02:49Do you look at this as a major, major mistake, strategic mistake?
02:54Well, Trump will declare victory no matter what happens.
02:57And the argument will be that the nuclear weapons program has been set back further,
03:02that their support for international terrorism has been set back further.
03:06But if the regime survives, however much damage has been done to it, it will build back and the nuclear
03:13threat and the terrorism threat will simply return.
03:19And, of course, that means that the Operation Epic Fury becomes an epic flop.
03:23I do want to ask you, however, in terms of the coordination with Israel,
03:26we did see the president saying Israel should not hit energy.
03:29And he also put out that social media post saying Israel is lashing.
03:33They need to stop that.
03:34How close do you think these two are working?
03:37Well, I think they're working very closely.
03:39In the White House this morning with Japanese Prime Minister Takeichi there,
03:43he said he had spoken to Netanyahu that he was aware of the attack
03:47and that he suggested Netanyahu not do it.
03:51But then he said we're very well coordinated and everything's fine.
03:58And let me just ask you a final question, sir.
04:01When it comes to Europeans, today we saw again, once again, the idea that the Europeans are not rushing to
04:07help in the Strait of Hormuz.
04:08They also say that the region needs to de-escalate at this stage.
04:12And some voices even say this war is totally illegal.
04:15So is that going to be a problem for the Europeans and President Trump going forward when it comes, certainly,
04:20in the context of NATO?
04:22Well, I think it is a problem because the European reaction is incorrect.
04:26This is Europe's war.
04:28Europe's just as much, even more at risk on the nuclear side.
04:31Why is it Europe's war?
04:33Because Europe is just as much, if not more, at risk from nuclear attacks.
04:39If Iran gets nuclear weapons, it has the missile capability to hit Central and Eastern Europe, not the United States.
04:45And Iran has carried out terrorist attacks in Europe.
04:49And to say, as some European leaders have, that it's not Europe's war is simply an invitation to Donald Trump
04:57to say,
04:58OK, fine, it's not Europe's war.
05:01And, you know, Ukraine, it's not America's war.
05:03That's a mistake.
05:07Well, well, sir, thank you so much for joining us on URAN News.
05:11I appreciate it, as always.
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